FR EE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2004
Volume 3, Issue 282
Santa Monica Daily Press A newspaper with issues
NEWS OF THE WEIRD BY CHUCK SHEPARD
■ A 20-year-old woman died in a onecar collision in Bridgewater, Mass., in November; according to police, she lost control of her car while talking on a cell phone and crashed into the Cingular Wireless store on Route 106. And a 16year-old student in Indianapolis was killed in November on his morning school bus ride when he stuck his head out of a window to see a dead raccoon in the road and was clipped by a tree. ■ And Stephen P. Linnen, 33, an assistant to Republican legislators in the Ohio House, was indicted on 56 counts stemming from an 18-month spree in which a naked man jumps out from hiding and photographs startled women’s reactions (Columbus, Ohio, November). ■ And Japanese men’s fetish for schoolgirls’ used underwear is such a problem, concluded a civic panel, that shops that cater to them are proliferating, thus enticing more and more girls to become suppliers (Tokyo, October). ■ Steve Danos, 24, was arrested as allegedly the man who had been sneaking into young women’s apartments to watch them sleep and to snuggle with them (and, sometimes, to fold their laundry) (Baton Rouge, La., October).
TODAY IN HISTORY ON OCT. 7, 1765, the Stamp Act Congress convened in New York to draw up colonial grievances against England. ■ In 1777, the second Battle of Saratoga began during the American Revolution. (British forces under General John Burgoyne surrendered 10 days later.) ■ In 1849, author Edgar Allan Poe died in Baltimore at age 40.
QUOTE OF THE DAY “Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.”
Council hopefuls amass campaign war chests (Editor’s note: This is the second article in a series this week covering campaign expenses before the Nov. 2 election. A Wednesday article detailed the first seven of the 14 City Council candidates.)
CAMPAIGN 2004 BY JOHN WOOD Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL — The 14 candidates running for four open seats on the Santa Monica City Council have amassed war chests ranging from nothing to more than $100,000, according to disclosure documents filed this week. Leading the pack is Kennedyfamily descendent and 17-year local resident Bobby Shriver, who has raised more than $80,000 in cash donations and lent his cam-
INDEX Horoscopes You’re the lead actor, Scorpio
2
Local Eat, drink and be merry
3
Surf Report Water temperature: 66°
3
Letters to the Editor Check your facts
6
Opinions Still no punchline
6
Business The volatile market
8
State CalFed bill passes
9
National A special informant
10
Crossword Get your words on
16
Classifieds Need a knitter?
21
See WAR CHESTS, page 4
Last known SM mountain lions become parents By The Associated Press
JAMES MICHENER AMERICAN NOVELIST (1907-1997).
paign an additional $25,000. At the other end of the spectrum are a handful of candidates who have declared they won’t be raising any money at all. Most candidates fall somewhere in between, with many commanding relatively small budgets as of the end of September. In addition to their individual holdings, candidates will rely on financial backing through endorsements from political groups like the Santa Monicans for Renters Rights organization and a new political action committee formed by the local chamber of commerce. By law, candidates are not
MALIBU — It’s quadruplets for the last known mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains. The pumas met last May in the dry hills, and now P-1 and P-2, as they are known, have a litter of four kittens. Both adults wear radio collars that allow a National Park Service team to keep tabs on their whereabouts. Two weeks ago, the team found the litter through the mother’s transmitter. The cubs are believed to have been born in late August, said Seth Riley, wildlife ecologist for the Park Service in the Santa Monicas. After waiting for P-2 to leave her den, the team finally found the tawny colored spotted kittens. “We’re real excited about this,” said Ray Sauvajot, chief of planning, science and resource management for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The team implanted transmitters in the babies’ abdomens so
researches can track their progress, part of a study begun two years ago to look at the effect of urbanization on mountain lions. The two cats almost didn’t meet. In December, a property owner in Malibu got a permit from a California Fish and Game warden to have the 150-pound P-1 killed, because evidence showed the cat had killed several of his goats. The request alarmed researchers, and the man called off the hunt. He later said he meant only to have the lion scared. As is common with pumas, P-1 hasn’t visited P-2’s den, researchers said, and it isn’t likely P-1’s relationship with the young cubs will be a close one. Males are extremely territorial, and scientists say the offspring have only a 50 percent chance of surviving a year because P-1 will see them as rivals as they grow. In about four months they may be forced to find new turf in an increasingly limited wilderness.
Photos by Daily Press staff Proceeds from the “Dolphin Change Program” help the local homeless population. The idea, officials say, is to deter panhandling downtown.
Loose change adds up to thousands for local homeless BY KATHLEEN BISHOP Special to the Daily Press
Sparing a dime for the homeless has translated into more than $100,000 for social service programs in the past decade. The latest recipient from what’s known as the “Dolphin Change Program” is the Venice Family Clinic, which will receive $5,000 this week from the Bayside District Corp., a nonprofit organization that manages downtown Santa Monica with City Hall. In an effort to deter panhandlers from the downtown area,
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officials started the dolphin program in 1993. The idea was to give passersby a place to put money for homeless people, other than in the hands of the vagrants themselves. Five dolphin sculptures throughout Santa Monica serve as donation banks. The money taken from them goes to organizations that provide services for the homeless. Bayside awards the donation annually at the Westside Shelter and Hunger Coalition Success Breakfast, which will be held See CHANGE, page 5
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